The top reported proficiency rate is 82% in English language arts. The lowest is 46% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Novak Elementary School
Novak Elementary School serves kindergarten through fourth grade in Marion, within the Linn-Mar Community School District. It is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet school. The school sits in a community that has seen ongoing residential growth, with new housing development in Marion and the surrounding Linn County area over the last several years. Housing values in the zip code that covers Novak are above the state average, and rents have been rising at a pace that exceeds the national rate, a pattern that reflects broader demand for homes in this corridor between Cedar Rapids and Marion. The housing market here has been active, and a family looking at Novak will encounter a competitive local market for both buying and renting.
The student body is predominantly white, with a moderate share of students from other racial and ethnic backgrounds. Just over a quarter of students at Novak qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a share that suggests the school serves a mix of income levels. Enrollment tilts heavily toward kindergarten, which has by far the largest single grade, while first through fourth grade each have smaller and fairly comparable enrollments. That kindergarten bulge is a notable characteristic of this school’s current size and shape. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not reported in the available sources, so a parent seeking information on special education services or English language support would need to ask the school directly.
Academically, Novak’s state test results from the most recent year show that a large majority of students scored at or above proficiency in both math and English language arts on the Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress. Those results place Novak below the midpoint among Linn County districts on a combined index of proficiency, landing in the bottom quarter of the county’s districts. This is not a low-performing school in absolute terms — the proficiency rate is solid — but relative to other elementary schools in the county, it is not at the top either. The science assessment data is older, from a school year before testing changes, and came in with a lower result; because the assessment and cut scores changed since then, that older figure cannot be directly compared to the current year’s numbers. In short, the available evidence points to a school where most children are meeting state expectations, but a parent looking at the county landscape will find other elementary schools with higher aggregate performance.
A few structural features of the district are worth noting, as they shape what happens after Novak. The district opened two new intermediate schools in 2021, serving grades five and six, before students move on to middle school. This reconfiguration is now a settled part of the district’s feeder pattern. The district also offers junior kindergarten and preschool programming, which signals some breadth in early childhood options even though Novak starts at kindergarten. The district’s budget and property tax rate, as publicly reported, represent a sustained tax consideration for families moving into the area.
No data on chronic absenteeism or discipline was available for Novak, and the school’s Title I status was not reported. Because the school ends at fourth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. A parent evaluating Novak may want to ask about student support services, class sizes in the smaller upper elementary grades, and how the school’s approach to instruction aligns with their own expectations. The academic picture is one of solid but not exceptional results relative to the county, set in a growing suburban community where housing costs are above state norms and where the district has invested in new intermediate facilities that change the grade configuration for incoming families.
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